


Carved into the Stars

by kiwipon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blaise Zabini is a Good Friend, Death Eaters mayhem, Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, F/M, Gen, Good Slytherins, Hermione discovers her powers, Mentions of Violence, See end note for further info on Greyback's involvement, Slytherins trying to save the world, alternative universe, mentions of lycanthropy, the dark lord rules
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25492651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwipon/pseuds/kiwipon
Summary: In a world where the Golden Trio never existed, Draco Malfoy decides to be the change.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45
Collections: HP Inspired by Imagery Fest - 2020





	Carved into the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> My prompt was a Draco x Hermione Centric piece where Hermione's name never appeared on the list where all magic people appear in order to be able to receive an acceptance letter to a Wizarding institution like Hogwarts. She is still a witch though.
> 
> This was an interesting experience for me as I don't really write that much. A big thank you to A.H for being my beta and A. & S. for helping g me with my huge writer's block.

**Losing my religion- R.E.M**

Tonight, like many others at Malfoy Manor, was a night of horror. Draco had thought that after a year of living in this forsaken place he had once called home, his skin would stop crawling at the sound of nails scratching shiny marble floors while pleading sobs begged for mercy. He thought his brain would be able to eventually mute the screams of agony coming from the living room, however, he was mistaken. 

He closed the door, cast a Muffliato and ran his shaky hands through his long locks. The ever growing dark circles stared back at him from the mirror in the corner of the room. His old Slytherin quidditch uniform lay discarded on the floor next to his broomstick, a memento of a childhood cut short.

For months now he had been using the information he could gather from the many meetings held in the Manor and had managed to stop as many attacks as he could without drawing attention to himself. Sometimes it was an offhand comment while walking through Diagon Alley, sometimes he would be in disguise, sometimes he wasn't even there, but a note was. To the right eyes, that was enough to give a warning signal to the resistance.

Tonight was different though, tonight he was going to stop an attack on muggles. Until now he had mostly kept within the magical community. Not because he deemed them inferior, but because even though his views had changed, his knowledge of the muggle world was small and had been filtered through hate and bigotry since before he could remember. However, the moment he heard the group of snatchers joking about the terrible things they would do to those _filthy muggles_ , he knew he could not let it happen.

As a proud Malfoy, Lucius had shown his son everything there was to know about the family estate from a young age. _You will make the family proud,_ and _this is the legacy of our name,_ Lucius had said as they walked around the many corners and turns of the manor.

Draco was sure that at this point, none of that was ever going to happen. If any of them made it out alive of this war it would be a miracle. And maybe it was that very unavoidable doom that forced him into action.

He might not be able to make his lineage proud, but he had discovered that lineage and pride had ruled his life until then and what he had to show for it would be best suited for a horror novel.

Draco knew that his little acts of rebellion could not only cost him his life but his parents as well, but to be honest, they all were living on extra time. 

Clad in the darkest of cloaks and a glamour spell to merge with the shadows of the maze like corridors, he retraced the secret exit paths his dad taught him as a kid. The Malfoy’s legacy was going to save muggles tonight. The thought almost made him laugh. The irony of it all was not lost on him. With purpose, he proceeded to exit the Manor’s grounds and disapparate.

  
  
  


**Wonderwall- Oasis**

  
  
  


Hermione had the perfect suburban life. Both her parents had well paid stable jobs, a small but cozy house in Hampstead, and by all accounts, she was going to be the first in the family to attend Oxford. 

Inspired to help the world to become a better place she had decided that she wanted to study law, and specialize in human rights. She had never been good at settling for good enoughs, she would work hard to become the best and the first step was getting into one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Oxford. She was lucky she had her parents to back her up, she had the privilege to actually be able to focus on studying instead of working to pay off her student loans. That was already something that ate away at her conscience. How many people had been robbed of the chances of a better life just because of their origins and an inherited financial insecurity that hung around their necks.

She would make a difference.

Hermione had an affinity for books that had not really helped her in the long run. She was the bookworm, the teacher’s pet, the weirdo. The first two she realized she had chosen for herself, the third one… well, that had always been a sore subject. She apparently had no control over the inexplicable things that happened around her since she was a young child. Her parents had searched for help but as nothing seemed to explain what Hermione was experiencing, they settled for the second best option, therapy. They had found a doctor that helped her come to terms with the fact that she might be compensating for the lack of real friends with some great imagination on her part. Now, as a young woman, Hermione had very few imaginary spells, she would call them. Revision had taken over her life, long nights studying, piles of books and notes scattered on the floor, she barely even let herself have a full night's rest, and daydreaming was out of the picture.

Tonight she was studying in one of her favorite places, The London Library. She probably should have left hours ago. She checked her watch again, she could still get the last tube home. 

The steps of the exit were wet with the remnants of last hour’s rain. St. James's Square stood silent and empty before her. With her headphones on she pressed the play button on her discman, Oasis on full blast. The closest tube station was only 15 minutes away, she picked up her pace not even bothering about the dirty puddles on the sidewalk. 

  
  
  


**Runnin’- The Pharcyde**

  
  
  


Draco decided that he would not be embarrassed by the amount of time it took him to find the place the Death Eaters had set as hunting grounds. It was his first time in muggle London and he felt a little disoriented by the noise of the weird metal carriages the muggles favored. 

Glad to be able to mingle with the shadowy corners of the streets, he only got a few weird stares that he expertly ignored. He had a purpose tonight and he was not going to be late. From what he had seen and heard at the manor, the group was no larger than three people and by all accounts they were pretty new in the order. Inexperienced but with a great drive to serve the darklord. Draco was confident in his skills, he had been on top of the class through all his school years, he would probably only need a few mild disorienting spells, maybe some fog and hopefully after not finding any muggles they would tire and go back home.

He arrived at St. James’s Square, the rain had thankfully stopped and the street was deserted. The first wisps of black smoke of apparating Death Eaters on the furthest east side of the square marked the beginning of the mission. So far Draco had managed to successfully redirect five muggles from crossing the square, he just needed to keep the area empty until they got bored and decided to leave. With a keen eye he spotted a girl leaving one of the buildings across the street, she must have been around his age, her clothes screamed muggle, and the headpiece she wore looked mystifying to him. He charmed the bin next to the stairs to fall down crashing and hopefully scared her into just getting out of there fast. She apparently could not hear any noise around her. 

But the Death Eaters did.

On the corner of his eye he spotted the three miscreants he had seen at the manor moving towards the noise, what surprised him was the fourth person right behind them. Draco’s heart gave a jump. His hands started sweating. This was not what he had planned, this was supposed to be an easy job. Standing before his eyes was Fenrir Greyback. Normal jinxes would do nothing against him, he was already a cursed man, and what was worse, he was barely a man at that. Draco had been witness to his violence and it was not the werewolf in him, Fenrir was a despicable creature with a twisted mind. The fact that the Darklord allowed him to serve at all was a clear reminder that something was really wrong in the magical community.

Desperate times asked for desperate measures. He casted an Imperius on the girl. She was a muggle, she would be easy to control, or so he thought, but after making her turn around and walk away two steps, she stopped. He could feel his grasp on her mind fading, she was fighting the Imperius, he felt the pressure build in his mind from the effort and by the time he finally lost it, her body was released and she fell to her knees.

By the time the fuzz in his head settled and he looked up from the corner he was hidden it was too late.

“Finally, we will have some fun tonight.” The first masked man said with mirth.

The girl looked up to the shadowy figures and scrawled back trying to get up, fear clear in her eyes.

“No need to be so scared, yet.” The second figure said as it turned to look at Fenrir.

“If you want to do the honors, we are aware of your type.”

Fenrir didn't even answer but his grin was enough to turn anyone’s blood cold.

Tonight was not even a full moon, but that had never stopped Greyback before. A quick death would be a blessing after facing him.

Draco would not let it happen, not again. It would blow his position but if Draco was fast enough and kept his spells non verbal he could still maintain anonymity.

A thick fog rose from the ground. With the position of the muggle still clear in his mind he left his hiding place.

“This is not a normal fog,” said the third figure, “we have company.”

“This is getting better and better,” said one of them. “Come here and face us, you coward, what has Potter been doing for your lot lately? Heard he disappeared the moment the Darklord returned and left you all behind.” They all laughed.

The 3 dark hooded figures got into position, wands ready to strike while Greyback kept his attention only on the muggle girl trying to stand up and run away.

The first explosion was meant to distract them long enough for him to be able to get closer to the girl. The second explosion broke their formation and provided him a window to sneak in and get a hold of her.

Greyback slowed down and through the thick mist Draco could see the reflected light of curses in the air. He ran across and as he was about to touch the girl he felt a ripping pain on his left side. Without hesitation he grabbed her arm and apparated to the first place that crossed his mind.

  
  


**Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve**

The contact with solid ground was brutal. They rolled gracelessly a few meters, a tangle of limbs on wet grass. Draco’s ribs were on fire, he hoped it was not as bad as he felt. The coin on his right pocket burned. 

As he tried to stand up, he felt the body next to him shifting but before he could even try to obliviate the muggle girl, his full body was thrown back in the air, wand flying off his hand. 

He had been magically disarmed by a muggle.

Draco had been on the other end of an expelliarmus and this had been the strongest spell he had ever felt, there was no mistaking it.

He scrambled for his wand, already a million questions forming in his head, _was she a fellow Hogwarts student?_ He didn't recognize her but as clever as he thought himself to be, he could not know each and every student in the school. _Who are you, who sent you, who do you serve._

A pop in the air signaled the arrival of a third party, to Draco’s relief.

“What the bloody hell happened?!” Blaise howled, “I can't believe you actually engaged them! What the…” His sentence was cut short as he noticed Draco’s wand pointing at a heavy breathing girl on the ground. Out of reflex he took out his wand as well.

“Care to introduce us, Draco?” Blaise said. 

“Hell if I know, I was just trying to stop those freaks and she…” Draco pointed again with his wand. “She was supposed to be a muggle but she just pulled an expelliarmus on me!” Pain obvious on his face, he held his side with his other hand, there was blood dripping on the ground by that point. “Where is your wand?! Who are you!?”

Hermione was still digesting the situation.

“This is not happening.” She said out loud as she covered her face with both hands. “This is not real, _this can not be happening,_ it is not, there is no way…”

“Oh it is happening alright,” said Blaise. “Care to tell us who you are before my friend here curses you into oblivion or...” He looked at Draco from the edge of his eye “dies of blood loss?”

Hermione looked up at them.

“Stop this ridiculous act, you are a witch, you are fooling no one here” said Draco.

“A witch…are you kidding me? What are you even saying?!” She threw both arms in the air. “I am not one of those Wicca lovers, and just, how stupid do you think I am, you just kidnapped me! I should be the one asking questions here!” She stood up and brushed off the leaves from her hair.

Draco was taken aback by her response.

“I put my life on the line to get you out of there, you ungrateful...!” He was cut by a branch hitting him right in the chest. Hermione had started picking up anything she could find and started throwing branches, rocks and leaves at him with surprising accuracy. Draco covered himself with his arms.

“You! Where the hell did you take me!? you...YOU CREEP!” Yelled Hermione.

  
  


Blaise had seen enough and decided to break them apart before someone got really injured, and Draco was already looking worse for wear to begin with.

“If you don’t mind, I would prefer if we moved this rather enchanting meeting somewhere else before someone sees us.” His eyebrows were up and a small smirk was forming on his lips. “I am enjoying the performance but, please…?” He gestured towards the old house standing right in front of them.

Hermione was the last to move, her rational nature was telling her that she just had to make a run for it, but the millions of questions in her head were heavier than reason.

It was not one of the biggest places Draco had been in, but he could still see the old glory in its walls; this must have been part of Zabini’s family, probably from one of his mother’s many husbands. He knew Blaise was not very close to his mom but even so, she always made sure he had enough to live comfortably. 

The lights of the corridor lit up and the trio walked into a living room where a big table full of food awaited them.

Draco’s shirt was soaking with blood and if it weren't for Blaise’s help he would have hit the floor with all his weight. Blaise dragged him to the sofa and laid him there.

“They did a number on you, mate.” He said as he opened Draco’s shirt. Hermione was completely forgotten in the background.

“Look at what the cat dragged in, it has been a while Draco, to what do we owe this honor…” A female voice said from the door. She approached the young men, and after a glimpse of Draco’s chest she went running to the cabinet in the corner of the room. “What the hell, Draco!?” She said as she rummaged through the contents on the shelves. She picked up a couple of vials and ran back to the sofa.

Blaise let her work her magic, if Pansy could not fix you it meant you were done for. She was probably the best person he knew at healing magic without an actual degree. Probably because she had had to do it on herself. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

“You are lucky I just brewed a new batch of dittany, Draco, what the hell happened?” She said as she casted a few quick spells and let the drops fall on his open wound.

Slowly Draco opened his eyes, less pain already visible on his face.

“Hello to you too Pansy, it is nice to see you.” A half smile on his lips. “I think we will have to ask her to know what the hell is really happening here.” He said, eyes fixed on Hermione.

The three turned to look at the girl murmuring to herself, eyes wide open.

“You just-! The wound, it is gone… it cannot be…” She had her eyes glued to Draco’s chest, a long scar crossed it from shoulder to hip, it looked old and deadly. What type of lives were these people living? Young bodies filled with battle scars. She could not help but look from the corner of her eye to the girl standing next to the sofa, her whole body marred by hundreds of scars, one eye closed, perhaps missing, Hermione thought. “You were serious about the magic stuff….” Her eyes found Draco’s. “But it cannot be…”

Her heart was racing, her legs slowly moving, 1, 2 steps back...like an out of body experience, she could not control herself, she needed to leave.

Blaise grabbed her arm and stopped her before she could turn around and escape.

“We need to talk” His voice serious and low.

  
  
  


**Where is my mind?- Pixies**

  
  
  


The silence in the room was deafening.

“I don’t have time for this shit.” Pansy blurted out, tired of waiting. “Who are you? Who do you serve? And where the hell did you come from?”

Hermione’s eyebrows were so high on her forehead that there was a slight chance she might lose them in between her riotous curls

“Who do I serve? What kind of question is that?” She said incredulously. “What are we, in the middle ages? I serve no one, what the hell? And who the bloody hell are you?! Clearly I am the only one here who does not know you lot, I should be the one asking here.”

Blaise’s hand grip was firm on Hermione’s arm, making her winch.

“Do you deny being a witch?” said Blaise. “My friend here swears that you casted an Expelliarmus on him, wandless no less. Only a skilled witch would be able to do that. This is not a joke for us, there are lives at stake here. Are you with the rebels? Rogue? Are you a fellow Hogwarts student? Beauxbatons, Durmstrang?…” Blaise kept his eyes fixed on her eyes, trying to read her. “You don’t know what I am talking about, do you?” He said softly, surprise clear on his face.

Hermione put one of her hands on Blaise’s, reassuring him that she was not going to run away.

“I swear to you I have never known magic was a real thing until tonight. I am just a normal London girl trying to get into college. I don’t know what Hogwarts is or anything you ask me really...I don’t know what happened tonight. I…I…I just...weird stuff has always happened around me but I never had an explanation, it all makes sense now, I… I must have magic” She said the last bit almost as if she was trying to believe it herself..

Blaise released her arm and turned to look at Pansy and Draco.

“That makes no sense…” said Draco. “I swear to you that she threw me up in the air like a fucking ragdoll. Her magic is strong. The Ministry keeps track of all the new born magic babies and make sure they receive a letter in due time for their wizarding education, and she…” He looked at her, up and down. “It is impossible to miss her power. I am sorry but I need more than words to believe you. I risked my life tonight… for you.” His expression was severe as he approached Blaise and Hermione. “I need to make sense of this.”

The moment his fingers touched her cheek and his eyes locked onto hers he could already feel the tendrils of magic pour out of him and rush into her mind, he twisted his wand, took him 3 full spins for the actual spell to take hold, unusual for him but Legilimency and Occlumency were complicated subjects even for experienced wizards and witches. He had been lucky enough to have had Severus Snape tutor him in his 6th and 7th year. The abilities that had proved to be of unforseen value for him, giving his current living situation.

The first barrier of her mind was solid, must have been what had blocked most of his Imperius back at St. James’s Square. He never had interest in controlling people, and like all the unforgivables, intent was key for a strong curse. After the first barrier crumbled, her mind folded around him, embracing his mind. Thousands of memories flooding his senses. Birthdays, first school days, walks with her family, Christmas dinners, but what interested him were the memories of her magic. He could recognize them, they were the classic tell tale of a young wizard and witch uncontrolled spurs of magic. He could feel the anxiety and sadness in these memories, it coated them like a patina of old varnish. Aside from those, the rest of the images seemed to tell the story of a teenage studious muggle girl.

She truly did not know she was a witch until he had found her.

The stream of memories broke, leaving him gasping and and her grabbing Zabini’s arm for balance.

“You are not lying...you truly did not know about the magic world...I am sorry for my behaviour, these are not safe times for the magic community, I had to make sure.” He grabbed her free hand and bowed to her, bringing both their hands to his forehead.

“My name is Draco Malfoy, these are my friends Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, I am sorry you got tangled in all this… nonsense. You would be better off not knowing about what is happening, If you want I can make you forget tonight happened, I offer you a chance to go back to your muggle life.”

“Muggle life?” Questioned Hermione, the words felt heavy on her tongue.

“The life of someone who does not possess magic abilities and does not know about real magic. You are no muggle though, you are what we would call a muggle born. Clearly you lack the training to hone your abilities. Normally all magic kids start their formal magic education at 11, in our case, we went to Hogwarts. Your situation is an anomaly, but given the circumstances, it might be a blessing.”

“The people that attacked us back at the square… will they stop attacking if I forget?” Said Hermione

It was Pansy’s time to intervene.

“No.” It was a definitive statement. She had no doubts things would get worse, for the magic community and muggles alike.” Who were the Death Eaters, Draco? Could you recognize any of them?”

“3 new recruits and Greyback.” Draco could sense the tiny change in posture on the scarred witch. 

Pansy had been attacked by Fenrir Greyback on a newmoon back in their 7th year. Her family, too scared to press charges against him and indirectly on the Darklord, meant that she was left for dead. Only her resilience and Blaise’s and Draco’s help had saved her life. She now, thanks to her experience, was an accomplished healer. Her methods were unorthodox as she used herself as guinea pig most of the time. She cut ties with her parents, she was not sure they even knew her to be alive.

“You dodged a great curse there, dear… what was your name again? I don’t think you have told us.” Pansy said as she approached them.

Hermione looked at her closely, she could still see youth in her, something scars had not been able to mute.

“Hermione, Hermione Granger.” She shook Pansy’s hand and turned to look at Draco again “ I want to remember, and I want to help”

  
  
  


**The Time is Now- Moloko**

  
  
  


The Slytherins looked at eachother. They had not mingled with the many muggle borns in Hogwarts back in the day. Their house loaded history of bigotry and division had shaped how they viewed the world as young wizards and witches. Reality had slapped them all hard barely two years back. Pansy’s attack had changed them deeply, but their years in Hogwarts had left them lacking in knowledge about the muggle world. 

“I am not one to disregard offers of help,” said Blaise, smile wide and eyes shining with ideas. “Your anonymity could be an asset here, but you also need training. This is a new world for you, and it is not welcoming of your kind, you will have to educate yourself. Luckily for you, Pansy and I are great at procuring, let’s say, _sensitive materials._ We could help you get the best education outside of the official streams.” He looked at Draco. “And you, mate, you should get going. Someone will notice you´re gone from the Manor soon, If the Death Eaters did not recognize you back in the square this is the only chance you have to keep your cover safe. We will speak about what this all means soon.”

Pansy handed Draco two more vials of what looked like standard tonics. “Take this tonight before you go to sleep, it will take the edge off the residual pain in the area hit by the curse, you should feel like new in the morning.” She added a wink for effect. “Next time you visit, please, keep your blood inside your body, dittany cannot heal everything.” 

Draco’s plan was easy, apparate far enough of the anti apparition wards around the Manor, trace back his steps to get back in and slip into his room unnoticed. He was not known to really leave his room a lot and a meal skipped was not unusual for him, even so, there was always a chance of someone requiring his presence. He needed his cover to be intact, for himself and for his family. He could make sense of Hermione later, there would be answers.

He prepared himself for the pull of the apparition spell, wand in hand, and determination clear. Nothing happened. He tried harder, he had never had problems before with that particular spell, he was confident in his apparition skills. This time the pull took him but he could feel something was wrong. He appeared again on Blaise’s living room floor, wand rolling to Hermione’s shoes. 

He rolled on his back, eyes trying to focus on the dim light, he could still feel the soreness on his left side from the curse but was sure he had not managed to splinch himself.

“Are you ok?! I thought you had him patched up, Pansy.” He said, a tinge of worry in his voice. “He might still be too weak.” He helped Draco on his feet and dusted him. “… fuck, we will have to side apparate, you gotta get out of here soon, man.”

Hermione bent down to pick up Draco’s wand and as soon as her fingers touched the smooth black surface, a gush of colorful sparkles flew out of the tip. A rush of energy travelled through her arm and she felt complete, as if a door had been opened inside and she could finally be herself.

Her reverie was broken by a set of gasps.

Blaise had both hands on his forehead, eyes big as plates. Draco’s features morphed to ones of dread.

“I am no expert in wand lore guys... but I know what wand allegiance looks like and your wand just chose her as its master.” Pansy said in a deadpan fashion.

The shock was evident on all teens. Hermione stood there, holding the wand on her right hand. Sparks had stopped but she could still feel it, like a light separate heartbeat within herself.

Draco took his wand back. The weight and feel of it were almost part of him after so many years together, but now it felt like a stranger. The wrongness made his skin crawl. He looked at it, eyes glazing over with unshed tears. He felt vulnerable. His wand was a defining part of his magic and of him as a person, a fragment of himself had just been ripped out. He felt incomplete, lacking in substance, there were no words to explain the deep hole forming in his gut.

Blaise grabbed Draco by the arm, urgent in his gesture. “We need to go now Draco, we cannot waste more time, we will figure this out, I promise.” He signaled to Pansy to keep an eye on Hermione as both boys disappeared with a pop.

  
  
  


**Erase/ Rewind- The Cardigans**

The trail back into the Manor was a blur for Draco. He was careless in his step, but luckily for him there was no one patrolling the corridors. He closed his bedroom door behind him, his body using it as balance as he slowly dragged himself to the floor. He held his wand in both hands, regarding it with intent. That expelliarmus had clearly been stronger than he had thought. It was the only explanation he had for his wand switching alliances.

Change was already in motion. Tonight, the girl, his wand. There was no way of stopping it. He had left the Manor with a plan that evening, and the girl, Hermione Granger, had turned everything he thought he knew into a mystery. Draco did not believe in coincidences. She was the key to something bigger, of that he was sure. He could let change run its course and be dragged along by it or he could be part of it. 

He had spent enough time letting other’s decisions shape his future, he was ready to shape it himself. 

The coin in his pocket felt warm against his leg, a new message from Blaise appearing on the coin’s sides.

_“ Meeting asap, waiting for instructions”_

Draco threw the coin up in the air and caught it again, a small smile on his face. The future was unsure but his resolve was clear, he and his band of misfits were going to try and save the world.

  
  


**************************EXTRA ART CONTENT*************

**Author's Note:**

> **Spoilers for Greyback's involvement** The fic features a scene where Greyback and a group of Death Eaters attempt to attack Hermione. We see them talk threateningly to Hermione, with predatory undertones, but the attack doesn't succeed and nothing happens.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos are hugely appreciated.
> 
> This work is part of the 2020 HP Inspired by Imagery Fest, an on-going anonymous fest. Authors will be revealed once all works are posted.


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